Hello and welcome to Roaming With Steven!
I’m currently on a mini-retirement / Gap year / Career Break and doing a mix of travel, time with friends and family, and pursuing hobbies that I haven't had time for in a long while.
But How did I get here? and what's in store?
The Jumping Off Point!
Once upon a time, I was really shooting for a ‘Sail-the-blue-in-Twenty-Two’. Buy a sailboat and sail the 7 seas for a few years. Needless to say that did not come to fruition. But, it has had me always wondering if it was time to quit my job or not.
Then in late 2025 came the catalyst. My roommate of 3 years, had some good opportunities arise and was moving up. I was going to be free from a Lease if I wanted. That was the only sign I needed!
I immediately started making a plan, a timeline, and a list of all the locations I wanted to visit.
Planning!
So many things to do, to book, and to research.
Surprisingly, quitting the job is the easiest part. It’s amazing what sending an email can do!
What was less easy was all the housekeeping items: Insurances, 401k transfers, moving, passing along plants to friends.
Luckily I have a family member who's willing to have me stay with them whenever I’m not on the road. Super Clutch as that saves soooo much money month over month. And is a fun time to boot.
I definitely used the months before I quit to get everything in place. I didn't want to be a month into my mini-retirement and still be figuring out where I am traveling next.
I QUIT MY JOB!
February 5th was my last day at work! (Can I make it forever?)
From there I’ve been on both sides of the globe.
I went straight into a Cross Country Ski race in Norway. Skiing to secluded forest bakeries, jumping into the ocean from floating saunas, and earning myself a Birken finisher pin. (Lefse hotdogs were the surprise food of the trip). I had a little post race rest in Denmark to eat more pastries and see a bird or two.
Next was a month in New Zealand. This was the first trip I knew I would not be able to do while working a normal job. Too much to see and not enough PTO to do the country right. And even with a month, there’s still soooo much more to see. I’ll be back.
NZ had incredible people. The nicest locals and even tourists! I spent my last two nights at some locals’ house who I had met on the Abel Tasman Great Walk. Also, did I mention the NZ Birds! The Kiwi needs no introduction. Iconic and still underrated.
Then I really put my Nissan Sentra to the limits with a 4,000 mile road trip to 11 national parks in the US. Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Yosemite, Pinnacles, Redwoods, and Lassen Volcanic!
Each park just mind blowing. The US does do national parks right.
What's Next?!
There are too many things on my Bucket List so we will see what I get to, and how long I can keep this Mini-Retirement going. But for now, I still see at least 8 months left.
My next destinations include:
Sailing and Free-diving in Greece
Hiking in Albania
Sushi in Japan
Exploring PNW mountains: North Cascades
How do I afford to not work for a year?
I’ll have a full post on this. Thanks for asking :)
Thanks for following along with the adventures!
Steven